Where Islam spreads, freedom dies

A recurrent motif among those opposed to the EU project is that, in its bureaucratic monstrosity, it resembles a recreation of the Soviet Union, a concept mockingly summed up in the (fake) initialism: EUSSR. But now the EU is moving a step closer towards making this caricature a reality.

It has actually invented a post with the initialism EUSR! Step forward Stavros Lambrinidis, newly appointed EU Special Representative for Human Rights.

Parliament called on the Council in June to appoint a high-level EU envoy with an established international reputation and a proven track record to fulfil a role MEPs have long considered essential.

The new Special Representative must have a strong, independent, flexible and sufficiently broad mandate, Parliament said. It should reflect EU human rights policy and cover areas including strengthening democracy, international justice, humanitarian law, abolition of the death penalty, freedom of expression, gender issues and children and armed conflict.

MEPs also called for adequate funding and staff to be allocated to the new EUSR, who should, they say, attend a hearing at Parliament and report regularly to it on the human rights situation in the world.